Display-case for post-cards, &amp;c.



.No. 874,301. PATENTED DEC. 17; 1907. A. G. GEDARBURG. DISPLAY CASE FOR POST CARDS, &0.

APPLICATION FILED BEPT.25.1907.

1n: NORRIS PETIIS 00., WASHINGION, n. c

lowing is a full, clear, and exact specification.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR O. OEDARBURG, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

DISPLAY-CASE FOR POST-CARDS, 85c.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed $eptember 25.1907- Serial No. 394,482.

No. 874,801. Patented Dec. 17, 1907.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR C. CEDAR- BURG, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of. Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Display- Cases for Post-Cards, &c., of which the folgeneral outline, and is provided with the base 10, the ends 11 and the top 12, which are preferably of wood, and the casing, as a whole, is intended to be placed upon a counter with the closed front 13 toward the customer. 1 preferably divide the front into two panels by the bearing strip 14, and a sheet-of glass 13 may be secured in the front of the casing in any desired manner; the only requisite being that the front of the casing shall be securely closed and yet transparent over a sufficient portion to render the cards therein visible. The back of the casing may be absolutely open if desired, but I prefer to em loy a couple of sliding doors 15 and 16 which are half the length of the casing, and are adapted to slide in the ways formed in the top 12 and bottom 10, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. These doors may be adjusted so as to close the rear of the casing to protect its contents from dirt and moisture, and they, of course, can be manipulated to open out at either half of the rear so that the clerk can remove the cards selected by the customer.

The frames, of which there are a plurality, four being illustrated, are shown detached in Fig. 2, where each will be seen to be made up of the bottom 17, the end pieces 18 and the top 19, and these pieces are preferably constructed of wood in order to make them light, and yet substantial. The bottom 17 is provided with the groove or channel 20 which cooperates with the rib 21 secured, or formed on the top of the bottom piece 10 of the casing. The top piece 19 has a centrally located handle 22 which is preferably secured thereto, as best seen in Figs. 6 and 7, by having the recess 23 cut into the rear of the top piece 19 so that the blades 24 of the handle which extend down through the slots 25 of the top piece 12 of the casing can be secured by the screws 26. The frames are preferably just one-half the length of the casing, and are preferably supported on the rails 21 in order to reduce the friction, and with the construction shown, the frames can be slid from one side to the other of the casing, the slots 25 being long enough to permit of this movement.

The supports for the cards are preferably formed of sheet metal, and the upper supports, one of which is shown in plan view in Fig. 4, are designed so as to hold three sets of cards lengthwise, while the lower supports,

My invention is concerned with a novel apparatus which is designed to display to would-be purchasers a large number of samples of merchandise, such, for instance, as souvenir postal cards, without its occupying any considerable space and without the possibility of the purchasers either handling or extracting the samples. It is also designed so that when a selection is made the salesman can readily take out as many of the selected cards as may be desired.

My invention in its preferred form is embodied in a rectangular casing adapted to set on a counter, and having a transparent front and open only at the rear, and provided with a plurality of horizontal guideways, together with a plurality of display frames cooperating with the guideways and mounted to slide therein, said frames being shorter than the casing, and each provided with a plurality of supports adapted to carry an assortment of cards and display the same. The frames are provided with handles extending outside of the casing and so located that a person in front of the casing can move the frames to render any card visible through the transparent front of the casing, but cannot withdraw any card therefrom, as they must be removed from the casing by the salesman at the rear thereof.

To illustrate my invention 1 annex hereto a sheet of drawings in which the same reference characters are used to designate identical parts in all the figures, of which Figure 1 is a front elevation of a casing embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of one ofthe frames removed therefrom; Fig. 3is aview invertical section on the line AA of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a top plan view of one of the upper supports; Fig. 5 is a similar view of one of the lower supports; Fig. 6 is a detail in section on a larger scale showing how the handles are secured to the frames; and Fig. 7 is a similar view in section on the line B-B of Fig. 6.

The casing is preferably rectangular in its one of which is shown in Fig. 5, are designed to hold four sets of cards in vertical osition. These supports have the back 27, the bottom 28, the short front 29, the end pieces 30 by which they are secured to the ends 18 of the frames, as seen in Fig. 6, and with the partitions 31, which divide the supports into compartments of the proper size for the cards. In the lower supports, the middle partitions 32 are of considerable width, and serve as a place for advertising matter, or to show the price, as indicated in the drawings.

The operation of the apparatus will be readily apparent: The customer standing in front of the casing Will inspect the cards which may be in the frames at the front, and will then manipulate the frames so as to leave those in the rear unobstructed by those in front until he has made his selection of the various cards shown. He then notifies the salesman, who, from his position at the rear of the apparatus, can remove the desired number of the cards selected, from the rear of the sample card which is visible. With this arrangement, it will be apparent that my apparatus serves not only to display samples, but also to carry the complete stock in a position where it can be readily obtained -when a sale is made.

From the foregoing it will be observed that I have devised a simple and neat apparatus which serves to display effectively a very large number of cards to the customer, and at the same time, so that they cannot be soiled or extracted by him, and also to keep the stock so that the salesman can readily supply any desired number of the cards chosen.

I am aware of the structure shown in the patent to Spencer, N 0. 505,445, in which the window-sash casing, open both at the front and rear, is provided with a plurality of vertical guideways, together with a plurality of vertically movable, balanced window-sash frames, each of which is provided with a single support in the rear of the glass, but I do not claim the same as my invention, because the frames are exposed to the direct manipulation of the customer and the cards cannot be protected from. handling or theft,

and, moreover, the frames being vertically movable require counter-balancing, and the device is not well adapted to stand upon the counter.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. In a display case for post-cards, etc., the combination with a rectangular casing having a transparent front and open only at the rear, and provided with a plurality of parallel guideways, of a plurality of display frames cooperating with the guideways and mounted to slide therein, said frames being I shorter than the casing and each provided 1 with a support adapted to carry an assortment of cards and display the same, and connections with the frames extending outside of the casing and so located that a person in front of the render any card visible through the transparent front of the casing, but cannot withdraw the card therefrom.

2. In a display case for post-cards, etc., the combination with a rectangular casing having a transparent front and open only at the rear, and provided with a plurality of horizontal parallel guideways, of a plurality of display frames cooperating with the guideways and mounted to slide therein, said frames being shorter than the casing and each provided with a plurality of intermediate supports adapted to carry an assortment of cards and display the same, and handles secured to the frame extending through parallel slots in the top of the casing so that a person in front thereof can move the frames to render any card visible through the transparent front, but cannot Withdraw any card therefrom.

3. In a display case for post-cards, etc., the combination with a rectangular casing having a transparent front divided by a vertical strip and open only at the rear and provided with a plurality of horizontal parallel guideways, of a plurality of display frames onehalf the length of the casing cooperating with the guideways and mounted to slide therein, each of said frames being provided with a plurality of supports adapted to carry an assortment of cards and display the same, and a handle secured to the frames extending through parallel slots in the top of the casing so that a person in front thereof can move the frames to render any card visible through the transparent front, but cannot withdraw any card from the casing.

4. In a display case for post-cards, etc., the combination with a rectangular casing having a transparent front and open only at the rear, provided with a plurality of horizontal, parallel guideways, of a plurality of display ames cooperating with the guideways and mounted to slide therein, said frames being shorter than the casing, and each provided with a plurality of trough-like supports having a partition separating them into compartments to adapt them to carry an assortment of cards and display the same, and connections with the frames extending outside of the casing and so located that a person in front thereof can move the frames to render any card visible through the transparent front, but cannot withdraw any card from the casing.

casing can move the frames and 5. In a display case for post cards, etc., the

assortment of cards and display the same, In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set and connections with the frames extending my hand and afiixed my seal, this 23rd day 10 outside of fghe casfinlgi and so located thatha of September, A. D. 1907.

erson in ont o t e casing can move t e l rames in the plane of their faces and render ARTHUR OEDARBURG' any card visible from the transparent front Witnesses: of the casing, but cannot Withdraw the card JOHN H. MOELROY, therefrom. JNo. Gr. ELLIOTT. 

